MOSCOW, March 6 (RAPSI) – All leaders of the State Duma parties have supported amendments to Russia’s Constitution, Director of the International Institute for New States Alexey Martynov has told RAPSI.

On Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin met with the lower house fractions’ leaders to discuss the process of adoption of the Constitution amendments. All of them pointed importance and necessity of the amendments and holding of the All-Russia voting on the matter, according to the expert.

Although some members of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation attempted to oppose the amendments, the fraction’s leader Gennady Zyuganov backed all initiatives at the meeting with the President, Martynov said.

In late February, an amendment setting April 22 as the date of the All-Russian vote on Constitution was submitted to the State Building and Legislation Committee of the lower house of Russia’s parliament in the framework of run-up to the second reading of the bill on Constitutional changes. According to Krasheninnikov, the proposed changes with respect of the date of the All-Russian vote were developed basing on the results of a meeting of the working group on drafting amendments to the Constitution held on February 26.

The date of the voting is to be a legal public holiday, it is to be held from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. local time.

President Vladimir Putin brought the bill to amend the Constitution before the parliament on January 20. He clarified the essence of the amendments proposed to the Constitution at a meeting with members of a working group established to elaborate the respective suggestions on January 16.

According to the President, the amendments are aimed to further the development of Russia as a social welfare state governed by the rule of law, as well as to achieve higher efficiency of its national institutions, strengthen the role played by its civil society, political parties, and Russia’s regions in working out most important decisions concerning the development of the state.

Vladimir Putin stated that Russia was to remain a Presidential republic, but a more open one, where the significance of its Parliament was to grow, whereas interrelations of lawmakers with the government were to be strengthened.

The President was to retain serious powers to dismiss from their posts those violating the law and those failing to be scrupulous about their duties on the basis of loss of trust, Putin said.

The Head of the State believes that these powers were imperative due to the complex state structure of Russia, its multi-confessional and multi-ethnic nature, and vast territory.

The working group on preparation of proposals concerning amendments to the Constitution was approved by the President on January 15. Among its members are representatives of the Federation Council, State Duma and other public figures.